A MOTHER from Staines has placed highly in her first bodybuilding competition.

Emma Jones, 36, who lives in St Pinnock Avenue with her husband Eddie and two children, came third in the South Coast bodybuilding championships.

She followed a strict diet and training regime prior to the event held in Portsmouth on May 8, that saw her beat almost 80 competitors to finish in the top three.

Mrs Jones juggles working full time as a school sports coordinator at the Bishop Wand School, being a mum, and a regime that sees her spending up to six hours a day at the Spelthorne Leisure Centre and eating six carefully planned meals a day when preparing for a big show.

Staff at Everyone Active at Spelthorne Leisure Centre, in Knowle Green, have encouraged Emma at every step.

She said: “The day went really well, I was lucky to have my family and friends there to support me, they were all noisily cheering for me.

"This is a lifetime achievement for me, to come home with a trophy was fantastic.

"I have always been interested in bodybuilding and admired the bodies of bodybuilders, I saw pictures and it inspired me to get involved and give it a go.

"I am a natural competitor, and for the South Coast Championships I started muscle building from September to January, then had 14 weeks of cardio training in the morning, then weights, then another cardio session later the same day.”

But Mrs Jones, who works with a dedicated nutritionist, admits it is not easy.

She added, “My training is intense, it was a shock to the system at first.

"It takes over your life, I have six meals a day and training seven days a week.

"I'm up at 5.30am every day to go powerwalking- there are no rest days.

"I'm fortunate that my parents can help with looking after the kids if I need them to.

"In the evening I cook dinner for my family then something else for me. It's hard because I'm constantly surrounded by food I can't eat and I get really miserable.”

Emma is currently preparing for the London and South East Championships to be held in Hayes on June 12.